Genesee Valley

Pond & Koi Club Newsletter

 Volume 7 Issue 1                                                                                                             January 2003

Ponds of the Genesee Valley

This month features the pond of Laurie and Angelo C.

Date Constructed: Summer of 2002   By Whom: Angelo C.   Inspiration for Pond: A friend was taking down their pond because it was too much a nuisance. Laurie and Angelo liked the pond ... realized it was "free" and decided "Let's do it!"   Dimensions: 12' x 22' x 38" Approx. Number of Gallons: 3,500 gallons Pond Type: 20 ml PVC . Filtration: No filter at this time  Fish: About 5 shubunkin that are 7" have produced over 400 fry ... they are growing! Plants: Hardy Lilies, Variegated Sweetflag, Pennywort, Water Hyacinth.  Comments: Should have joined the club sooner so they would find out what NOT to do and be a wiser consumer. There is a second pond, which has several koi in it. Laurie and Angelo would like to join the 2 ponds together in 2003 and reduce the number of shubunkin present!

 

Plant of the Month

Canna "Stuttgart"

Comman Name: Stuttgart Canna

Zone: Tropical Plant, zone 8- 10

Native: Full to partial sun

Blooms: July to September.

Size: Height - 5' 6'.

Color: Peachy pink Blooms are attractive but the main focus of the plant is it's strong white variegation on dark green leaves.

Pond Size: This marginal plant will work in any size pond. It is best however if there is only a small amount of water over the top of the pot.

Comments: This attractive water Canna makes an excellent specimen plant or and interesting "splash" of color in the pondscape. It is best if the plant receives afternoon shade. Otherwise Stuttgart has a tendency to burn it's leaf edges in the late, hot afternoon sun.

Nau Hear This!

Well, the year is ending and I hardly know where to start for this newsletter. It was a successful year for the club in general. The participation in LilyFest and the plant auction helped to make us known and added to our treasury. Because of this and the good response regarding the guest speakers we had this year, we anticipate being able to bring in a guest speaker or two again in 2003. We have added a few new members but unfortunately we haven't really grown in overall numbers. We had an enthusiastic group of hosts and participants for the pond tour and picnic. Finally, the closing event last month was the Christmas Party and our pond jeopardy game. This too went very well. There was plenty of wonderful food again this year and there were many side conversations and a general sense of good friendship to go with the season and the goal of the club.

I want to thank all of you again for your support and for making all of the events this year so successful. I hope that we can present even better information and opportunities for everyone not only for 2003 but in the future years as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Now, on to the immediate future. Our meeting on January 3rd will be a planning session to set topics, events etc. for the coming year. We would really appreciate your input and hope that you will be able to join us to make your wishes known. However, if this is not possible, please call me 473-6276 and I will add your information and wishes to the items to be discussed.

A few of the things that are already on the list are LilyFest and the plant auction which may be June 14-15 or 21-22 (Larry is still trying to work out the details with Ray. [Kingfish] Lucas and a guest speaker). It has been suggested that it might also be advantageous to consider having the pond tour in August rather than July. This could give the plants more time to develop and mature, especially if we have a cool or late spring again in the new year. This would also give us more leeway to work around the 4th of July holiday and other garden tours.

I have a list of potential topics from Greg Young of the Niagara Frontier club who is willing to do a presentation for us.

Since GardenScape has grown so much in the last few years, I do not see us participating in it in our own position or booth. However, if anyone can arrange for us to have the club information available in another booth or area, it would be greatly appreciated.

Since some members are also interested in model trains, I have made some inquiries and have been assured that the Garden Railway Group might be willing to provide an off-site demonstration and answer questions for us. If there was sufficient interest, this or an alternate type of visit might be an interesting alternative for a July meeting.

Please consider these ideas and start your own list of suggestions to give us an overview of what is of interest to our various members. With your input, we hope that we can provide something of interest for everyone.

It is again time for the renewal of your club membership. So far half of the 2002 members have already renewed. If there is a mini renewal form attached to your copy of the newsletter, it means that we have not received your renewal. Please consider sending us your check now or bring it to the meeting. Dues are $25 per year. Thank you.

 Winter officially started this week but we were already ahead of schedule with our colder and snowier fall. I hope that your ponds and water gardens have weathered the changes as well as mire. The bubbler and air stone have been doing a fantastic job of keeping a large portion of the pond free of ice. That is something that we will have to continue monitoring all through the winter months.

The water is really quite clear and the gold fish, although swimming very slowly, can still be seen on a daily basis. The fish too should be monitored whenever possible. If there are any diseased or deceased members they should be removed as soon as possible. This will minimize the spread of any disease and prevent the decay products from affecting the water and remaining fish.

If you use netting to cover your pond, it is a good idea to check it from time to make certain that none of the wildlife that visit the pond have become trapped in the mesh. If the weight of the snow and ice have stretched the netting down into the water, it can also trap fish. When the weather permits the netting should be raised above the water surface if possible.

If you use a tarp or plastic sheeting for cover, you have a green house type structure that some rodents find quite comfortable. They may decide that some of your favorite plantings provide a nice buffet to help them through the winter. A periodic check could minimize the shock of missing plants in spring. Some of the marginals, (water mint, parrot feather, the cow lily and some of the marsh marigold leaves) are still green and may even be growing. Leave the stems and the leaves of extra hardy plants extend above the water line to provide air channels through the ice as it forms and melts. There has also been some discussion in recent magazine articles regarding the possibility that certain plants have something similar to a "body temperature". The plants in some of the test phases demonstrated and registered thermal cycles as surrounding temperatures were changed. Although these temperature changes were not significant enough to be considered as a source of actual heat at the present time, the research may be worth monitoring for future updates.

While there was some lowering of the water level from evaporation with the high winds and as the water temperature dropped, the rain and melting snow have returned the level to the normal range and everything appears to have stabilized. We must all remember to periodically check our water levels throughout the winter season and when necessary or possible make additions to top off these levels. One final reminder on additional winter care of your pond and it's fish population, if the pond should freeze over for more than a couple of days, either due to extreme colder weather or due to a loss of power, open a hole in the ice surface manually. However, DO NOT CHOP OR POUND on the ice. This creates excessive bursts of pressure and harsh sound waves that may be harmful to the fish. The preferred method is to pour warm water or set buckets of warm water on the ice and let them melt through it. The ice fishermen in the club have suggested that an ice auger could also be used to drill a hole through the surface. The auger should create minimum sound levels and practically no impact pressure. Because of the effort involved, it also tends to warm up the operator. This operation will also require the use of a strainer or similar device to remove the ice shavings from the hole so that they do not provide a base on which new ice crystals can form.

Another advisory, if you are using an airstone with smaller diameter tubing; is to monitor your airflow especially when a humid period is followed by a sudden cold spell. Condensation can form inside the tube and freeze thus minimizing or cutting off the air supply. You can correct this by warming the tubing to melt the ice or replace the tube with a' different piece while you bring the frozen section into the house to thaw.

I hope that you don't mind the repeating of these reminders from year to year. We want you, your pond and your fish to have a successful winter and if one of these suggestions provides the necessary edge to accomplish this, it has been worth it.

Since we have referred to the importance of air (oxygen actually) exchange in much of this issue, it is only natural to ask "What does oxygen do?" Dissolved oxygen impacts pond quality in many ways. Some affect plant life and others affect the fish and water quality.

It is important for plant life especially in the summer when the plants are actively growing. At night many of the water plants respire much as we do and reverse their normal cycle and actually use the oxygen and release carbon dioxide. The oxygen is also necessary for the beneficial bacteria to break down and decompose the older, dying plant materials.

As for the fish and other creatures in the pond, an adequate supply of this dissolved oxygen is necessary for their survival. It helps to minimize stress, increases their vitality and improves their strength to escape or fight off predators.

Fortunately, colder water is capable of holding more dissolved oxygen than warmer water. This is what makes it possible for the fish to survive the winter in more natural situations where flowing water is continuously bringing in a new supply of oxygen rich water. In the closed environment of our ponds it I becomes our duty to renew this through the use of our bubblers and air stones and  for the few more adventurous types by the action of their streams and water falls throughout the winter.

In the summer, we know that the water can obtain some additional oxygen from wind and surface ripple action. Fountains, spitters, splashing waterfalls, streams and filter discharges are important additions. A more recent suggestion for summer improvement is to incorporate a trickle tower technique. If there is sufficient interest this could be discussed in a future issue or meeting.

With the start of the new year I would also like to encourage more members to become involved in the various club functions and operations. The work load is light and the benefits are substantial. You will enjoy the hobby more as you work with others. You will have the opportunity to meet on a more personal basis with people with a wide range of knowledge and interests in various fields and no matter what your own knowledge or interest level might be, you will be able to learn something new from your interaction with them. So do yourself a favor and become more involved in 2003

  TOP